My son Aaron, who lives in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (we have both taught English here for the past six years), has severe and aggressive endocarditis, a staph infection that has spread to his heart. Immediate open heart surgery is now required to replace two infected and damaged heart valves.

Aaron was recently rushed to Cho Ray Hospital for severe collitus, a nasty bacterial (staph) infection in his feet and legs. Further tests revealed that the disease had aggressively spread to his heart, had seriously damaged two of his heart valves, and that he was undergoing acute kidney/renal failure. Multiple blood transfusions, antibiotics, etc., have stabilized him, but the need for immediate heart surgery is now urgent.

Aaron has no insurance or savings, and I and my family have no wealth to speak of. My meager savings has been steadily depleted paying for his urgent care up to this point, and another small GoFundme helped with that - before we knew the costs of everything combined. Cho Ray Hospital has been incredibly supportive, and the costs for Aaron's surgery and post-op recovery care (which costs much more than the surgery itself and includes daily dialysis) has been substantially reduced to about $35,000 USD (around 800,000,000 VND). But this money must be raised before the surgery can be performed, and time is a luxury we don't have.

I beg you all humbly, please help me save my son's life.

-Steven Lawrence

P.S.The person heading this campaign is Taylor (Lawrence) Heaps, Steven Lawrence's daughter and Aaron's younger sister. All funds will be sent to the father, Steven Lawrence, who lives in Vietnam, and who will immediately apply funds toward all hospitalization expenses, including leg surgery, heart surgery and post-op recovery at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. For those wishing to discuss or confirm Aaron's status, his attending physician, Dr. Bach, may be contacted directly at +84 0988494927, or call the hospital directly at (84-028) 3855 4137.